[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 6 (Thursday, January 11, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H401]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   WEST VALLEY DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Kuhl) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise to make the House aware of 
a serious problem in my Congressional district in upstate New York.
  The West Valley Demonstration Project, which is located here, was 
created by Congress in 1980 to solidify in glass the nuclear waste left 
over from a variety of sources, including defense atomic waste. This 
project successfully vitrified all of the high-level waste on the site 
over the next 2 decades, placing the waste in safe gas containers ready 
to store in a permanent storage facility.
  West Valley is unique in the Department of Energy system in that the 
site is owned by the State of New York, but the operation is funded 90 
percent by the Federal Government and 10 percent by the State of New 
York. While there is little question that the waste is, in large part, 
Federal waste, the Federal Government is not owning up to its 
responsibility to completely clean the site so that it can be returned 
to the community of West Valley and reused for economic development 
opportunities.
  There is now a grave problem that threatens all of us. Some of the 
radiation has leaked into the ground water and formed a plume, as shown 
here on chart 2. The plume continues to grow and threatens streams on 
the site. These streams feed into larger tributaries which empty into 
the largest body of fresh water in the world. I repeat that: the 
largest body of fresh water in the world, the Great Lakes. Lake Erie's 
shores are only 25 miles away. Better shown on this chart. West Valley 
Demonstration Project, the creeks to Lake Erie.
  It was estimated that the cleanup of this plume would require the 
removal of 4 million cubic feet of soil just a few years ago. Current 
estimates suggest 30 million cubic feet of soil would need to be 
removed to eliminate the threat if done today.
  The Federal Government has simply moved the ropes around the affected 
area. Rather than cleaning it up, a few years ago when the problem was 
first noticed, the Department of Energy has roped off the area, allowed 
it to grow and grow and grow.
  I will be introducing legislation once again during this term of 
Congress, Mr. Speaker, to direct the Department of Energy to take 
immediate possession of the Western New York Nuclear Service Center at 
West Valley and remediate the entire site, including this dangerous 
plume. The Department of Energy would be responsible for all costs of 
the clean up, as New York State neither has the resources nor the 
ability to do so. This is a Federal problem that requires Federal 
attention.
  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission would be given authority to 
regulate activities of the Department of Energy at West Valley and 
consult with the New York State Department of Environmental 
Conservation in executing the remediation.
  The West Valley Remediation Act will replace and supersede the West 
Valley Demonstration Project Act of 1980, if adopted, but does not 
reduce any of the act's decontamination or decommissioning provisions.
  Appropriations of roughly $95 million per year would be authorized to 
implement the act, and additional appropriations would also be 
authorized to benefit the community.
  The Department of Energy is then precluded from transporting any 
additional hazardous or radioactive waste to the site for the purpose 
of treatment or disposal.
  Most importantly, the site would be cleaned and returned to its 
natural state, and the Great Lakes would no longer be threatened, 
taking care of a potential international environmental hazard of 
monumental proportions.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope you and my colleagues will work with me and with 
the Senate to find a solution to this problem.

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